01556665

Component

This paper analyses the 338 pedestrian fatalities on railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area between 2004 and 2012. Almost half (47%) were apparent suicides, 21% were non-suicidal fatalities at stations and crossings, and the remaining 32% were non-suicidal incidents at other places along the right of way. A spatial analysis shows that while there is a general randomness in incident location, there are some common patterns, and also some notable outliers or “hot spots.” The frequency of fatalities at stations and crossings and from trespassing in different municipalities is strongly related to the density of public access points to the right of way. But fatalities of these types do not increase with train volume suggesting that pedestrians may exercise more care around busier lines. The distribution of apparent suicides is less strongly related to the density of public access points suggesting that those intending self-harm will seek out a point of access. Apparent suicides are also more prevalent where there is a higher train frequency and a greater proportion of passenger trains that run to a published schedule. They are also more prevalent in municipalities with higher incomes and lower population density. While most of the apparent suicides (70%) are not associated with any copycat activities, the dataset contain clusters of suicides that are proximate in both time and space. There was also a highly-publicized suicide that led to a 95% increase in apparent suicides throughout the region in the 18 weeks following the incident.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB60 Highway/Rail Grade Crossings.

01550057

15-1034

English

13p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

References; Tables

Fatalities; High risk locations; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Railroad crashes; Railroad grade crossings; Spatial analysis; Suicide

Chicago (Illinois)

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-1034

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 12:25PM